Collapsible life-boat.



H. L'. HAYFO'RD.

CO-LLPSIBLE LIFE BOAT. APPLICATION FILED ocT'. 1. |916. nENEwEn Aue. 4,wn.

1 ,265, 195. Patented May .7, 1918.

` HOWARD L. Harrow), or WHITMAN, MAssAcHUsnTTs.

COLLAPSIBLE rLIFE-BOAT.

Applieationsled 0ctober7, 1916, Serial Ilo-124,284. Renewed August Toall whom/ may (2o/neem.'

Be it known that I, HOWARD L. HAYFORD, a citizen of the United States,residingfpat Whitman. in thel county of Plymouth and State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in CollapsibleLife-Boats, of which the following is a specification. f

This invention relatesl to life saving` devices adapted to be stored incompact form on a ship and to be expanded to operative form whenlaunched.

The invention is embodied in a life boat comprising a stiff bottom, acollapsible wall or curb attached at its lower edge to the bottom,l

and provided with a stiii'ened upper edge, said curb being adapted to beerected and form a vertical wall surrounding the space above the bottom,an open or frameshaped iioat surrounding the curb and attached theretobetween said bottom and the upper edge of the curb, the curb beingcollapsible to bring its upper edge and the bottom in close prox# imityto the float, and automatically acting means operable by a downwardmovement of the bottom due to the weight of passengers thereon t0 raisethe upper edge ofthe curb. The boat is adapted to be deposited in acollapsed condition upon the water and the arrangement is such that whenthe oat is supportedl by water the weight of the passengers standing onthe bottom will depress the bottom and at the same time raise rvtheupper edge of the curb, and thus form a water-tight `wall surroundingthe space above the bottom.

The `invention isalso embodied in a. cover composed of sections hingedtothe up}; er l edge of the curb and adapted to protect the occupants ofthe boat.

Of the accompanying drawings forming ,a part of this specification:

Figure 1 represents a top plan view of a boat embodying my invention,portions of the cover being broken away;

Fig. 2 represents a section on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 represents a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the boat collapsed;

Fig. 4 represents a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1. i

Thev same reference characters indicate the same or similar parts in allthe views.

In the drawings, 12 represents an open frame-shaped float preferably ofthe elliptical form shown by Fig. 1, said oat being specification ofLetters Patent.

ple, the. fi-oat may be of metal .frame and coperating Patented May 7,191s. 4, 1917. Serial No. 184,538;

of any suitable construction.

tubing, yhermetically closed, or it may comprisea shell not necessarilywater-tightr filled with cork or other buoyant material. 13 vrepresentsa, bottom of suiiicient stiffness weight of a number ofpassengers`without being bent or buckled thereby. I 14 represents a flexiblewaterproof curb, which may be constructed of canvas suitablywaterproofed, the lower edge of the curbhaving a water-tight connectionwith the marginof the bottom 13.

The curb is securely connected between its upper and lower edges withthe iioat 12 in any suitable way. As here shown, I connect a narrowflange or frame 15 with the float by means of bands 16 attached to,` theiiange andy encircling the float, the Hangeprojecting inwardly from theinner surface of the float and beingrmly attached to thecurbabout'midway between its upper` and loweredges.

The lupper edge of the curb is stiffened preferably by a continuousframeor stiften ing member 17.

When the boat is Fig. 3, the bottom 13 and the stiiened upper edge ofthe curb vare yin' close proximity to eachother and to the float.

to sustainI the collapsed as shown by i i have provided curb-erectingmeansy which act automatically when the ioat. is deposited in acollapsed condition upon the waterto erect the curbandr cause it tov surround the spacey above the bottom, as indi,L cated by Figs. 1, 2 and 4,said means being preferably embodied in two'pairs ofcrossed levers 18,the levers of each pair being centrally pivoted together at 19. Thelower ends of the levers are slidingly engaged with the bottom 13 andthe upper ends of the levers are slidingly engaged with the stiff eningframe 17. The preferred connections between said levers and the bottom.of the frame are preferably embodied in members 20 attached to thebottom and stifening with said parts to and studs 21 pro- -formlongitudinal slots the levers 18 into jecting from the ends of the saidslots. s

When the body is deposited in a collapsed condition on the water andpassengers take their place on the bottom, the weight of the `passengersdepresses the body and at the same time causes the levers 18 to raisethe upper edge of the curb, so that the curb as a whole assumes theerect form shown by Fig. 2, the bottom 13 being depressed below and thestiiened upper edge being elevated above the float. y Y

To maintain the curb in its erected position I provide struts 23, whichare hinged at 24C to the stifening frame 17 and are arranged to stand ina vertical position and bear on the bottom 13 when the curb` is erected,as shown by Fig. 2. When the boat is collapsed the struts are inclinedas shown by Fig. 3.

25 represents cover sections of flexible material, such as canvas,attached at their outer edges to the stiffening frame 17, and at theirinner edges to curved metal rods 26, which are hinged at 27 to thestiffening iframe 17. Said sections are adapted to be swung inwardlyover the curb by the occupants of the boat, to shield the occupants fromthe weather.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A life boatcomprising a stiff bottom, a collapsible wall or curbattached at its lower edge to the bottom, provided with a stitfenedupper edge, and adapted to be erected to surround the space above saidbottom, an open or frame-shaped float surrounding the curb and attachedthereto between said bottom and upper edge, the curb being collapsibleto bring its upper edge and the bottom into close proximity to thefioat, and erecting means operable by a downward movement of the bottomto raise the upper edge of the curb.

2. A life boat comprising a stit bottom, a collapsible wall or curbattached at its lower edge to the bottom, provided with a stiii'enedupper edge, and adapted to be erected to surround the space above saidbottom, an open or frame-shaped float surrounding the curb and attachedthereto between said bottom and upper edge, the curb being collapsibleto bring its upper edge and the bottom into close proximity to thefloat, and crossed levers pivoted together centrally and slidinglyengaged at their ends with the bottom and with the stiffened edge of thefloat, and operable by the depression of the bottom to raise the upperedge of the curb.

3. A life boat comprising a stiff bottom, a collapsible wall or `curbattached' at its lower edge to the bottom, provided with a stiffenedupper edge, and adapted to be erected to surround the space above saidbottom, an open or frame-shaped float surrounding the curb and attachedthereto between said bottom and upper edge, the curb being collapsibleto bring its upper edge and the bottom into close proximity to thefloat, erecting means operable by a downward movement or" the bottom toraise the upper edge of the curb, and struts hinged to the upper portionof the curb and adapted to bear on the bottom when the curb is erected.

et. A life boat comprising a stiff bottom, a collapsible wall or curbattached at its lower edge to the bottom, provided with a stiened upperedge, and adapted to be erected to surround the space above said bottom,an open or frame-shaped iioat surrounding the curb and attached theretobetween said bottom and upper edge, the curb beingcollapsible to bringits upper edge and the bottoni into close proximity to the float,

erecting means operable by a downward movement of the bottom to raisethe upper edge of the curb, and a cover composed oi' two flexiblesections connected with the longitudinal edges of thecurb and adapted tomeet and overlap above the space surrounded by the curb, and curvedmetal rods engaged with the meeting edges of said sections and hinged tothe stiened edge oi' the curb.`

In testimony whereof I have aiiixed my signature. p

HOWARD L. I-IAYFORD.

lCopies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Eatents,

Washington, D. C.

